The Lord Best OBE DL
Crossbench
Member of the House of Lords
M
Lord Best's full title is The Lord Best OBE DL. His name is Richard Stuart Best, and he is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Data not yet released for 2026 — the Lords Finance Office publishes monthly CSVs ~6-8 weeks after month-end.
Lords votes · 2026
162 divisions
15 Content(9.3%)
10 Not-Content(6.2%)
137 didn't vote(84.6%)
2026-04-23
Not-Content
152–207
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Content
27–89
Not-Content
2026-03-12
Not-Content
26–134
Not-Content
2026-03-05
Content
193–143
Content
2026-03-05
Content
194–140
Content
Source: lordsvotes-api.parliament.uk. "Result" shows the headline
Content vs Not-Content tally (including tellers). The Lords doesn't
publish a "didn't vote" attendance roll like the Commons, so the
figure above conflates absence with abstention.
Recent Hansard contributions · latest 25
2026-06-22
Home Ownership: First-time Buyers
My Lords, would the Minister agree that a rather surprising and paradoxical way of helping first-time buyers is through making it easier to build for last-time buyers: those who want to downsize or right-size? Then you get two for one: you are helping th
2026-06-17
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, this has been an incredibly rich group of amendments. I think we have all appreciated the contributions of all noble Lords on these six amendments. Perhaps I could confine my closing remarks to Amendments 61, 62 and 65, on all of which the Min
2026-06-17
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, Amendments 61 and 62 are in my name. Amendment 61 would ensure that social housing providers—councils and housing associations—offer a new secure tenancy to a tenant forced out of their social housing by threats of violence, including domestic
2026-06-17
Social Housing Bill [HL]
2026-06-15
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, my name is on Amendments 37, 38 and 44 in this group, all relating to the disposal of social housing to other buyers—which is quite separate from the right to buy for existing tenants, as they are sales to other purchasers. I have a good deal o
2026-06-15
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, I support Amendment 20 in the name of my noble friend Lord Cameron of Dillington, and I declare my various housing interests as in the register. Before considering Amendment 20, perhaps I could extend a word of dissent to the Clause 6 stand par
2026-06-08
Affordable Housing: Young People
My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is now a brilliant new way of helping young people get the accommodation they need: intergenerational housing? Pioneered by the Phoenix Community Housing association in Lewisham, in schemes involving apartment
My Lords, I too was delighted to be a member of the Industry and Regulators Committee that produced this report. I also thank the clerk and the team who looked after us. They did an absolutely brilliant job. What we discovered six months ago has been bri
2026-06-01
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, it is a delight to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock. I declare my housing interests as in the register.
I commend the Bill, which introduces a number of legislative changes to enhance the quantity and quality of desperately needed aff
2026-05-20
King’s Speech
My Lords, my contribution today considers the housing aspects of the King’s Speech, and I will echo some of the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham. I declare my housing interests as listed in the register, including chairing the Norther
2026-04-23
Home Ownership: First-Time Buyers
My Lords, will the Minister agree that it is the longer-term effect of having fewer first-time buyers that really counts? When you retire as a tenant, you have not paid off a mortgage, you have not got a capital asset and you see your rent rising every y
My Lords, I will speak for one minute on Amendment 307. It is in my name but has been championed by the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, for months, and he is very sorry not to be here tonight. It is supported by the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and the noble Baro
My Lords, Amendment 307 would require every local planning authority and every strategic authority, separately or jointly, to appoint a qualified and experienced person to act as chief planner, as a number have done already. This amendment has been champ
My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 310 from the noble Baroness, Lady Royall of Blaisdon, while also supporting all the other amendments in this group. I declare my interests as a vice-president of the Local Government Association and of the T
2026-02-11
New Homes Target
My Lords, the 1.5 million new homes target is only part of the big housing jigsaw. It is about quality as well as quantity and regeneration as well as new build. All this is meant to come together in the Government’s long-term national housing strategy.
I am very grateful to noble Lords for their support. The noble Lord, Lord Lansley, is as experienced as anybody in this field and my noble friend Lord Mawson brings community-based experience as well. They are heavyweights in support of my amendments, an
My Lords, development corporations will be the chosen vehicle for the delivery of the new generation of new towns. I was delighted to hear today the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, announcing a consultation on the details of creating a development c
My Lords, I will speak to the three amendments in this group, starting with Amendment 133, which has the heading
“Support for Mayoral Development Corporations”.
The amendment concerns the measures in Part 2 of the Bill that will facilitate strategi
My Lords, I have added my name to Amendment 131 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, also supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, and the noble Lord, Lord Shipley. The amendment requires local planning authorities, separate
My Lords, I shall speak to Amendments 7 and 128 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Royall of Blaisdon. They are supported by my noble friend Lord Cameron of Dillington and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle. I declare my interests as a
2026-01-08
New Homes: Target
My Lords, the Minister mentioned her negotiations with housebuilders—I think it was just yesterday. We depend on those volume housebuilders to produce all the homes that we need. Can she reassure the House that in those negotiations she will not wish aw
My Lords, my contribution today addresses one ingredient in the Bill that is easily overlooked but which could prove of immense significance in achieving the quantity and quality of new homes the nation needs. I am referring to the measures in Part 2 tha
2025-10-27
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I have added my name to those of the noble Lords, Lord Lansley, Lord Shipley and Lord Banner, in support of Amendment 106, which would require local planning authorities to appoint one qualified and experienced person as chief planner. This wou
Source: hansard.parliament.uk via hansard-api. Snippets shown
verbatim from the search API; click any debate title for the full record.
Register of Interests · 2 entries on file
Declarations under the Lords Code of Conduct. Free text — no monetary values, no hours worked. A declaration that an interest exists, not a claim about its size.
Category 3: Land and property
-
Property in Dorset from which rental income is received (owned by wife)
registered 2010-04-16 · amended 2025-04-05
Category 6: Gifts, benefits and hospitality
-
As co-chair of judging panel for the International Property Awards, the member and his wife had dinner and accommodation in London paid for by International Property Media Ltd, 23 October 2025
registered 2025-10-30
Source: UK Parliament Members API (Lords register). Refreshed weekly.
Read the full
Lords Code of Conduct
for what each category covers and the disclosure thresholds.
Party history
2001-06-04 → present
Crossbench
current
Government posts
None recorded.
Opposition posts
None recorded.
Committee memberships
2002-11-13 → 2008-11-26
Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (Lords)
2004-05-10 → 2004-09-15
Draft Charities Bill (Joint Committee)
2007-11-13 → 2012-05-01
Economic Affairs Committee
2013-05-16 → 2014-05-14
Information Committee (Lords)
2013-05-16 → 2013-11-06
Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee
2014-06-12 → 2017-04-27
Communications and Digital Committee
Chair
+£14,876/yr
2018-10-16 → 2020-04-23
EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee
2021-04-14 → 2024-01-31
Built Environment Committee
2024-01-31 → present
Industry and Regulators Committee
Contact
Parliamentary office
best@parliament.uk
020 7219 6799 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
020 7219 6799 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
APPGs (2026) · 4 active officership(s) · 6 historic
| Group | Role(s) | Funders | Officers in group | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People
Subject Group
|
Co-Chair | Housing 21 | 4 | 2027-02-09 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Planning
Subject Group
|
Officer | Royal Town Planning Institute | 6 | 2023-11-13 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on New Towns
Subject Group
|
Co-Chair | Town and Country Planning Association | 4 | 2027-03-12 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shared Ownership Housing
Subject Group
|
Officer | Field Consulting | 6 | 2022-06-11 |
One row per active APPG. Funder names link out via the
/appgs Top secretariat funders panel — click any funder
there to open its full relationship graph. Officer matching is name-based against
the parliament.uk register text and may miss titled / hyphenated variants.
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
Showing
1
of 1 tabled
1 answered(100.0%)
1
departments
Source: UK Parliament Members API. The amber "interest" tag is set
by Parliament's own system when the asking member has a register entry
it deems related — typically a paid role or directorship in the
sector being asked about. Click any "i" icon to see the full
question and the department's answer.
Bills sponsored & supported · 2026
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported in 2026.
Source: UK Parliament Bills API. "Lead" sponsor is the
primary mover (sortOrder = 1); "Supporter" rows are
members of either House who
backed the bill at introduction. Year is the bill's first-reading
date.
Historic bills (all-time)
7 bills
1 as lead sponsor
6 as supporter
| Bill | Info | Role | Status | Introduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2022-06-15 | |
| Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2017-07-19 | |
| BBC Licence Fee Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2017-07-12 | |
| Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2016-06-29 | |
| Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2014-07-02 | |
| Mobile Homes Act 2013 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2012-06-20 | |
| Mortgage Repossessions (Protection of Tenants etc) Act 2010 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2009-12-16 |
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.